Chapter 5
I woke on my back. Disorientation swept me as I tried to figure out how my bedroom ceiling had become a purple sky. Just as reality crashed back in, a soft sound made me turn my head.
Vander crouched at the edge of the ring of crystals, his body tense and his features hard. His fangs glinted as he placed a finger over his lips, warning me to stay silent. His silver eyes glittered with menace.
Somehow I knew the feral expression wasn’t meant for me.
Even so, my throat went instantly dry, and my heart raced as the promise of danger scented the air.
“No matter what happens,” he said in a low rumble, “do not leave the circle.”
With a jolt, I realized he crouched outside of it.
A dark shape burst from the forest behind him. Vander moved in a blur, spinning and launching himself at the intruder. They collided in midair and crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and snarls.
I jumped to my feet with his dagger in my hand. Dimly, I was aware of Maddox rearing within the circle, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from the battle unfolding in the predawn light.
Vander grappled with a wolf twice the size of any I’d seen in Ghedda.
They rolled on the ground, fangs flashing.
The beast’s fur was gray and matted. Its black claws looked razor-sharp.
Its eyes were a fierce, glowing yellow. Vander’s eyes glowed just as brightly.
He moved with lethal grace, evading the wolf’s snapping jaws as he pummeled it with vicious blows.
All traces of the smiling knight were gone.
No one looking at him now would mistake Vander for anything other than a predator.
Maddox pawed at the ground, tearing up chunks of moss in his agitation.
Suddenly the wolf gained the advantage, rolling Vander under it and lunging at his face.
I rushed forward, my fangs snapping down.
“No!” Vander bellowed, whipping his head to the side as the wolf snapped its jaws, just missing him. “Stay in the circle, Corinthe!”
I stumbled to a halt. “Tell me how to help you!”
“I’ve”—he punched the wolf in the side of its head—“got it”—another punch—“under control.”
The wolf lunged again.
Vander bared his fangs and roared. Just like in Ghedda, the sound warped the air. The wolf yelped and ducked its head. Faster than I could track, Vander flipped it over and straddled it. He drew his hand back. When he slashed it down, bone-colored claws protruded from the backs of his hands.
I stared, disbelief pounding through me, as Vander ripped and clawed at the wolf. Blood spurted. The wolf’s scream became a gurgle as Vander slashed his claws across its throat. Fur and flesh splattered the moss. The wolf went still.
A second wolf streaked from the trees.
“Look out!” I yelled, but Vander was already on his feet and spinning to meet the new attacker. The wolf’s paws landed on Vander’s shoulders and drove him backward. Vander stumbled and went down.
Hissing, I raced across the clearing. Crystals dug into my bare soles as I crossed the edge of the circle.
I raised the dagger, prepared to plunge it into the wolf’s back, when something slammed into my side.
The world spun. My shoulder struck the ground and then I was flat on my back with a third wolf snapping its jaws in my face.
I thrust the dagger up and plunged it into the beast’s side. It roared and lunged for my neck. Instinct took over, and I buried my fist in its throat. As it gagged, I used my other hand to twist the dagger deeper into its ribs.
The wolf shook itself and slammed a paw onto my shoulder, pinning me to the ground.
“Fuck off,” I growled, slamming my knee into its midsection. But the wolf wasn’t a man, and my blow glanced off its belly. With another growl, I turned my head and sank my fangs into its leg.
Hot blood pumped into my mouth. The wolf’s pained squeal filled my ears. Grim satisfaction bloomed in my mind, and I bit harder, hitting bone. At the same time, I pulled out the dagger and thrust it back in. The wolf sagged, its head lolling. A second later, its head flew from its body.
I gasped, releasing my bite as blood sprayed across my face. Vander grabbed the wolf’s body with one hand and tossed it aside. He held his silver-eating sword in his other hand. Blood and gore slid down the glowing blue blade.
I scrambled to get up. He reached for me at the same moment I clutched at his arm. My blood-slick hand slipped, and I pulled him off-balance. Just before he crashed down, he grabbed me and spun us so he absorbed the impact on his back and I sprawled on top of him.
We stared at each other, our chests heaving.
He spoke between labored breaths. “Are…you…hurt?”
“No.” The wolf’s blood pumped through my veins, erasing aches even as they bloomed. “Are you?”
“I’ll live.” He dragged in another breath. “You don’t listen half as well as Maddox.”
It took a second for his words to sink in. I narrowed my eyes. “Your horse ?”
“I told him to stay in the circle, too. You know, so he wouldn’t get attacked by werewolves.”
My nape prickled. But maybe it shouldn’t have. The wolves had fought too intelligently for ordinary animals.
Vander’s gaze turned thoughtful. “You were impressive. Someone trained you.”
An ache shot across my heart. “My mother and I lived alone. She never wanted me to be helpless.”
“I don’t think anyone could accuse you of that.”
As the haze of the attack faded, I became aware of several things at once. Our hearts pounding against each other. My breasts mashed against his chest. His hand on my hip. As I drew an uneven breath, the scent of rain swirled into my lungs.
Heat scalded my cheeks as I scrambled off him and stood. I busied myself shaking out my skirts as he got to his feet and retrieved his sword.
Blood soaked my bodice. I plucked the sodden neckline away from my chest and tried to remember what Vander had said about dragons and shape-shifting. “Um, I’d like a new gown? The same style is fine, just without the blood.”
Energy rushed around me as the dress remade itself, the brown fabric pristine once more.
A whimper echoed around the clearing. One of the fallen wolves twitched.
In a blink, Vander stood over it, his sword at the ready. The wolf’s body twitched again. Then it jerked…and began to swiftly transform.
Morbid curiosity propelled me forward, my gaze glued to the werewolf.
The transformation sped up. Paws slid into human hands.
Pointed animal ears slid down the beast’s head and shrunk into their human counterparts.
Fur receded, tufts of gray giving way to blood-streaked skin.
Seconds later, a nude man lay on the ground.
Blood matted his dark hair and beard. Deep slash marks marred his neck, bits of purplish bone poking from the gouges.
His eyes were closed, and an ominous-sounding rattle emerged from between his lips.
Vander’s expression was just as ominous as he placed the tip of his sword against the werewolf’s ruined throat. “Who sent you?”
The werewolf opened his eyes, revealing bright yellow irises.
I stopped just behind Vander. My heart thumped wildly, and my fingers twitched for the dagger I’d left buried in the wolf I killed.
Malice burned in the werewolf’s eyes as he stared up at Vander. The splintered bones protruding from his neck moved up and down with each reedy breath.
Vander pressed the blade into a shivering knot of veins and sinew. “Who sent you?”
The werewolf’s gaze shifted to me. Recognition glimmered in his eyes.
With a savage growl, Vander moved sideways, blocking the werewolf’s view of me. “Don’t look at her.”
A wet chuckle drifted around Vander. “You’re a fool, Blackfell. She—” The werewolf’s voice cut off with a wet crunch. Vander swung away, his expression flat and cold. The werewolf stared sightlessly at the lightening sky. His head was no longer attached to his body.
“You killed him,” I said, revulsion warring with confusion.
Vander brushed past me. “His throat was crushed. He was as good as dead.”
I spun around, and my confusion slid into wariness as Vander moved about the clearing, pausing over each wolf as though checking for signs of life. Apparently satisfied that none of the others were breathing, he began tidying up the battle scene.
“He called you by name,” I said.
Vander’s expression was shuttered as he used the toe of his boot to scuff over a patch of blood on the ground. “I’m a recognizable enough figure in Nocta.”
“Did you know him?”
“No.”
I could feel the door shutting. “He looked at me,” I said. “He was trying to say something.”
Vander shook his head. “He would have insulted you.”
“How can you know that?”
Silver eyes met mine. “Because I know werewolves.” He walked toward Maddox, snagging his cloak from the ground with the tip of his sword as he went.
When he reached the horse, it snorted and pushed its nose into Vander’s shoulder so forcefully it knocked Vander backward a step.
Vander cleaned his sword on a fold of his cloak, then sheathed the weapon and scratched behind Maddox’s ear.
I observed all this with doubt nibbling at the edges of my mind. Vander had questioned the werewolf, then killed him as soon as it seemed like the wolf was prepared to give answers.
“He called you a fool,” I said.
Vander continued stroking Maddox, his attention on the horse. “As I said, werewolves are prone to insults.”
Frustration bubbled up. I looked around the ring of crystals before returning my gaze to Vander. “You expected them to attack. You warded the clearing because you knew they were coming for us.”
“These are borderlands. Attacks are common.”
Maybe. But the werewolf had acted like he knew me. Like he was about to say something important. Mama never forgot important things. But she’d kept them from me.
And now Vander wouldn’t look at me.
I shook my head. “You’re lying about something.”
He looked at me sharply. “Think carefully before you call me a liar, Corinthe.”